video games are good, except when they're not

September 3, 2016December 3, 2016

Day #247: Rage Racer

As documented on this very site, I’ve been in a bit of a funk of late, not really having much in the way of energy or motivation to consume games that would likely be worthy of a very lengthy write-up. I’m hoping that the new week will bring with it some new perspectives, but for now, I’ll pass the time with an old favorite.

I may be surprising to learn that Rage Racer is one of my favorite games of all time – I’m not exactly a huge fan of the genre and, despite being the son of a mechanic, know very little about cars. Ironically, my lack of skill at racing games may have something to do with why I still remember Rage Racer so fondly, being the only game of its kind that I would consider myself good at. I can attribute this to the fact that it was the only Playstation game that I owned for a while, naively letting my neighbor and “friend” Spencer borrow my copies of Resident Evil and Mega Man 8 a week before his conveniently timed move. Suddenly, I found myself at 9 years old again, playing the same game over and over because it was all I had.

Rage Racer got me through that summer single-handedly; its four tracks still burned into my memory after all of these years, just as vivid as my thirst for revenge against Spencer. You will rue the day you wronged me. Oh yes. There will be so much rueing.